Wednesday, 08 August 2012
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Reality TV Motherhood: The Parenting Dos And Don'ts
Just when you thought Mommy Dearest was as bad as a mother could get, along comes the mothers of reality TV. The norm for many of the reality television shows is the portrayal of moms as scary creatures instead of nurturing caregivers. While many bad examples of parenting emerge from these shows, all is not lost. A few positive examples rise to the top and have served as role models for mothers in the real world.The Bad: Parenting Don'ts
1. Postpartum Nightmares
Regardless of how frustrated moms can get with their babies, it is not a good parenting practice to share fantasies about dropping their newborns off the roof. The New York Times points out such an incident on an episode of “Postpartum Nightmares,” when the mom shares a solution to all her new mommy woes. “I was so in the mindset to say O.K., kill the baby, it will get rid of the problem.” If you can't stomach watching all of it at once, program your DVR (Digital Video Recorder), which comes free of charge when you sign up with Satellite911.
2. Forcing kids into the Spotlight
Forcing kids into things they don’t want to do is not always a horrible thing if you want them to eat their vegetables, or clean their room. But blasting them into the spotlight on national TV like many moms did in Lifetime’s “Dance Moms” is downright awful. The Daily Beast, has reviewed this program's inappropriateness, complete with nasty mothers and an evil dance instructor.
One episode showed a 7-year-old girl’s resistance to being forced to dance for the cameras. The youngster ran into her mother’s arms backstage, pleading, “Please don’t make me go!” Her agony was captured on film, complete with the girl openly scowling and pointing at the camera being shoved in her face.
3. Televised Child Abuse
Ever watch “Toddlers & Tiaras,” where super-controlling moms force their young daughters to prance around in sexy adult outfits and hussy-level makeup? The Daily Beast accurately sums up “Dance Moms” and “Toddlers & Tiaras” in three words: televised child abuse.
The Good: Parenting Do's
Not every reality television mother is the wicked witch of the airwaves. Some actually have scruples, morals and a healthy way of parenting. The Ashley’s Reality Roundup blog paid tribute to several of the top moms on reality TV, and several of their best behaviors are noted below.
1. Parenting your own kids
Many celeb moms hire on a fleet of nannies to look after their brood, get a pedicure and call it a day. Not so with Tori Spelling, who is always out and about with her hubby and trio of children on their show “Home Sweet Hollywood.” This refreshing practice doubles as a way to truly bond with your children.
2. Being honest
Matriarch Evelyn Braxton of “Braxton Family Values” gets a nod for being up-front and honest with her five daughters. She’s not one to needlessly coddle, even telling them they must respect her or they will be punished.
3. Persevering
“Teen Mom 2's" Kail Lowry is a trooper. She overcomes her own hardships to focus on college and motherhood. Obstacles included an unplanned pregnancy, a less-than-prefect relationship with the father of her child, and the lack of a connection with her own parents and still she puts her child first.
With so many reality shows depicting moms as downright demonic, seeing a positive portrayal is refreshing. Imitating such a portrayal is easily within your power if you focus on the positive examples of what a good mommy should be.
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Comments (4)
Hmm,.... I watch some of these shows, off and on. Not all of them, but some, such as Toddlers and Tiaras and Dance Moms. I think that there are aspects of some of these that are overshadowed. Toddlers and Tiaras can be considered televised child abuse in some cases. There were times that it made me a little sick to watch it because of that. That doesn't mean all those kids are being abused though. Some of those girls clearly love what they're doing, and those are the episodes I love to watch, even if I don't fully agree with putting that much make-up on little girls. As for Dance Moms, that show is brutal. That dance instructor is a terrible person, a real bully and some of the moms are just as bad. Not all of the mom's are monsters. I don't watch the show religiously or anything, but from what I saw, a couple of the moms really do seem to have their daughters best interests at heart. I think they just need to find a new dance teacher.
Its sad that that needs to be clarified. Hey that lady in the picture REALLY looks like my aunt. :P
Every now and again I'll watch that show about the parents with 25 kids because while I don't agree with having so many children when so many are in need and overpopulation is already a huge issue, their family interactions are sweet and I love how the Duggars parent.
I know some moms that are scary and not nurturing. :/